Beach Action Plan

Sarasota County Beach Action Plan

Sarasota County joined forces with the Sarasota and Manatee County Health Departments, the Town of Longboat Key, the Cities of Sarasota and Venice, and the Englewood Water District to establish an "Action Plan" to minimize adverse human health impacts from bacteria exposure and avert "No-Swim Advisories" at County beaches.

The County Health Department samples 16 beaches weekly for enterococcus bacteria. Occasionally, sample values exceed the standards established to protect public health, and the impacted beach is posted with a "No-Swim" Advisory until further sampling indicates that the water is safe for swimming.

Identifying the source is challenging because the bacteria come from many human and non-human sources. As part of the Action Plan, a baseline sanitary survey identifying sampling sites, utility infrastructure, fire hydrants, stormwater outfalls, septic tanks, and other potential sources of bacterial contamination was prepared for each of the 16 beaches. These maps and other beach-specific information may be accessed by using the interactive map below.

Important Documents & Links

The "Sarasota County Multi-Jurisdictional Beach Bacteria Incident Action Plan" documents the County’s approach to beach water quality monitoring. It uses a coordinated, multi-jurisdictional, strategic approach to avoid beach bacterial outbreaks whenever possible, and to protect the public by providing a rapid and accurate response to them when they occur. Background information on beach water quality and monitoring is contained in the additional documents provided.